The holiday season is most often associated with sitting and eating large amounts of food especially for our big holiday gatherings. This can sometimes add unnecessary stress if you are trying to stay healthy. The goal around the holidays is not to deprive yourself but to enjoy it without overindulging.
Here are some ideas to keep in mind during the holidays to avoid overeating:
- Eat breakfast! If you’re up early to either cook the meal for the day or just because that’s your usual time to wake up, eat something small and satisfying to carry you until the big meal!
- Eat a snack. Eating throughout the day keeps your metabolism working so having a snack with a protein and carbohydrate source can be very helpful to avoid hunger pains. Ex: cheese and crackers
- Eat a small lunch. If you aren’t eating that big meal until dinner time then make sure to have a small lunch around 3-4 hours before the big meal, you don’t want to be starving going into dinner because you will be more likely to overeat.
- Take a walk after lunch. Get moving so your food can better digest as well as getting some activity in for the day.
- Have one plate not multiple. Enjoy a little bit of everything on the table, but in small portions. Try to limit it to only one plate with a little bit of everything and take your time to enjoy the food.
- Drink lots of water throughout the day. This will help keep you hydrated if you are consuming alcoholic drinks as well as curb your appetite a bit so you aren’t grazing on snacks throughout the day before the big dinner.
- Take another walk after you eat dinner to let your food digest better.
- Have small portions of dessert. Don’t deprive yourself of dessert, but be aware of portion sizing! Also, wait a couple hours before eating dessert to give your turkey dinnertime to digest.
GET ACTIVE FOR THE HOLIDAYS!
One of my family traditions every year is to try and gather as many relatives together to 
create a fun flag football game! If flag football isn’t your cup of tea, think of another sport that your family enjoys such as soccer and play at a local open field with a park for the kids that are too small to play so they can stay busy also! This is a great way to get everyone active as well as avoid having too many people in the kitchen when making that large meal!
